Before The End
by TiedToTheStorm
Summary: The day of the final battle against organization 13 is approaching, and Sora can't get rid of his uneasiness. Young Xehanort's words continue to echo in his head. Is he really going to disappear from this world? He can't. He couldn't. Not when he had her. Sora/Namine & Kairi/Riku. Takes place during KH3.


**Summary: The day of the final battle against organization 13 is approaching, and Sora can't get rid of his uneasiness. Young Xehanort's words continue to echo in his head. Is he really going to disappear from this world? He can't. He couldn't. Not when he had her. **

**This is how I wanted "The Kingdom of Hearts" to eventually end up at, but I doubt I'll ever finish that story entirely. I wanted to make it a three-part series all of the way to Kingdom Hearts 3! So, I decided to just write a snippet of how I imagined my story to be like near the end. This takes place during KH3 and all of the characters are 18 and over (not that I'll be super **_**descriptive **_**or anything but just wanted to throw that out there). There may be grammatical and spelling errors but please bear with me. I hope you guys enjoy! **

**Rated M just to be safe…**

**I DO NOT OWN KINGDOM HEARTS OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS.**

**Note: After looking over this on the actual Fanfiction site, it's so hard to tell what parts are italicized... If you're confused about whats happening it's likely a flashback lol... I'll try to go back over this and edit but for now I hope it's not TOO confusing...**

…

It had been a long adventure. The different worlds were all full of beauty and excitement. Sora and the gang decided to visit a few of them before preparing for the final battle. They had time and they knew how important it was not to waste it. As they landed in the Kingdom of Corona, Rapunzel was the first person to greet them.

"Welcome back, everyone!" She ran up to the gummi ship eagerly.

"Yo! Rapunzel!" Sora greeted her, followed by Donald, Goofy, and Namine. Kairi and Riku had decided to stay back on the island. They wanted to train a bit more with Axel.

"Where's Flynn?" Donald asked.

"He's back at the shopping district. I may have planned another festival today…" She giggled and twirled her now short, brown locks around her fingers. "I'm surprised you guys are here, what a coincidence!"

"Already abusing your power, I see." The duck joked. Everyone laughed.

"Well, you see… I loved the lanterns so much I couldn't possibly wait another year!"

"Oh! We get to see the lanterns again, Sora! How exciting!" Namine said with a huge smile.

Sora nodded and smiled back. He grabbed her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. He wanted to take in everything about her in that moment. She blushed from his sudden gesture, but held his hand just as tightly. Donald and Goofy chuckled.

"Oh brother!" Donald laughed.

"Sora sure does love you, Namine!" Goofy cheered.

Sora rubbed the back of his head and Namine giggled. Rapunzel smiled at the couple.

"You guys are just the sweetest! I wish Flynn was this loving…" She placed her hands on her hips and shook her head.

"Hey now! I'm a pretty romantic guy myself." Everyone turned to find Flynn walking up to them. He was carrying a bag full of lanterns. "Hey everyone! I'm glad I got so many of these things. Rapunzel wanted them all to herself, but we can all light one tonight." He placed a kiss on Rapunzel's cheek. "There. Loving enough for you?" He gave a victorious smirk, but Rapunzel just rolled her eyes.

"Your cockiness always ruins it." She playfully pulled his ear.

"Do you guys want to hang around before we start? The sun will be setting in a couple more hours." Flynn questioned.

"Sounds good to me." Sora replied. Donald, Goofy, and Namine nodded in agreement.

After a while, everyone split up to check out different stores. Donald and Goofy headed to the west district, Rapunzel and Flynn to the east district, and Sora and Namine found themselves in the north district. Namine was in awe of the pretty and colorful jewelry. One of the shop keepers let her try on a butterfly hair clip and she turned to Sora with a shy smile.

"Does it look weird on me?" She asked.

"Not at all." He pulled out his wallet and took out some money. "We'd like this one, please."

The shopkeeper smiled and took the money while thanking them. Sora began to walk towards another shop and Namine hurried after him.

"Sora! You didn't have to…"

"Don't worry about that! I saw how much you loved it."

"I want to get you something too then!"

Sora shook his head. "I already have what I need." He took her hand and pressed a kiss to it. Namine, blushing even harder, was shocked and looked around in embarrassment.

"W-What's with you today? You're never like this in public!" She teased.

A sad expression appeared on his face suddenly. Without warning, the memory of what Young Xehanort had told him came rushing back to him.

"_You're going to cross a line that you won't be able to come back from! You'll no longer exist in this world… But I-!" _

"Sora?" Namine had a worried expression on her face. She immediately noticed that something was wrong. "Is something bothering you? You've been acting strange for a while…"

"I just… I just don't want to waste the time I have with you and everyone else." He looked at her with sincerity in his eyes. He didn't know what could happen during this battle or if he would even make it out alive. He didn't even want to imagine having to leave them behind, especially Namine. She meant the world to him, how could he leave her? She had Kairi, Riku, and everyone else so she wouldn't be lonely… But he knew how hurt she'd be.

"Don't be silly." She playfully poked him on the forehead. "We'll have all the time in the world once we defeat the organization."

Sora looked to the ground, but then forced a smile.

"You're right." He lied. There was just no way that he could tell her what Xehanort had said to him. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so negative…"

Namine shook her head. "You have nothing to apologize for. We've all been through so much. Donald, Goofy, Kairi, Riku… Aqua, Ven, Terra… We're all scared. Anything can happen in a battle like that. But I want to protect my friends and I want to protect you! If anything happened to you I don't know what I'd do…"

Sora gulped nervously. He couldn't bear keeping this secret away from her, but it was for the best he thought. He wanted to change the subject quickly.

"Do you hate it?" He moved closer to her, taking a strand of her blonde hair in his hand. "When I touch you?"

Namine was taken aback suddenly. This was not the naïve boy she had met in Traverse Town. He was older and more mature, she knew that, but after their recent adventure it seemed like something in him had changed. He was affectionate, touching her hands and hair more than he used to. He would stare at her, sometimes too long. This didn't make her particularly uncomfortable it was just all new to her. Sora was the one who taught her how to love, after all.

"N-No." She stuttered, barely able to keep eye contact with him. Oh how she hoped the people who were passing by weren't staring at them. He chuckled and put some space between them again. She frowned, suddenly missing his closeness. "I'm just not used to this, but if it's with you I'm okay with anything." Namine made sure to sound confident in her response so that she wouldn't make Sora feel any worse. Surprisingly, it was his turn to blush as he started to interpret what exactly "anything" meant.

"A-Anyway…" he started, "I'm going to find some souvenirs for Riku and Kairi. Would you mind meeting up with everyone else on your own?"

"Eh?! I want to shop for them too…" She sulked. "How would you know what to get Kairi anyway?"

Sora rubbed the back of his head, frantically searching for an excuse. "Um… Well I just do. I wanted some alone time too… Just to think about the battle." He grinned awkwardly at her.

Namine pouted but then nodded, understanding the situation.

"Fine. We'll be waiting for you at the dock. Don't be late!" She gave his hand a small squeeze and then went off in another direction. Sora smiled and then his face returned to an expression of worry. He sighed and continued to look around for gifts for his friends. The thoughts that he had been trying so hard to push away seemed to drown him in a pool of anxiety. The brunette thought back to the beginning of his journey and how everything had changed significantly. He thought about losing Kairi and Riku, meeting Donald, Goofy, the king, and…

_Namine._

He smiled to himself, reminiscing about the first time he saw her. He had mistaken her for Kairi and to be honest they did look pretty similar. When he found out that Namine was indeed created from Kairi it didn't seem to surprise him in the least. At first, he believed he had loved Kairi in a romantic way, but realized that what he felt for her was a familial kind of love. Sora remembered what Riku, being possessed by Ansem, said to him when they had reunited once again:

"_As soon as another girl caught your eye you forgot about Kairi… Did you ever love her from the start?!" _

"_That's not true!" Sora shouted back. "I love Kairi, but not in the way I thought… I realized that after meeting Namine."_

"_Heh, so anyone would've been good enough for you?" Dark Riku scoffed. _

_Sora clenched his fists, but then relaxed and stared at his best friend with a determined look on his face. "Of course not, you idiot. If it had been anyone else but her, I wouldn't feel this way."_

Thinking back on it, he said some pretty embarrassing things at a young age. It also didn't help that Namine _and _Kairi were both there at the time. He spotted a gold necklace in the shape of a star and picked it up, holding it at eye level.

"Kairi would definitely like this!"

After purchasing gifts for both Kairi and Riku, Sora started to head to the dock. Before leaving the shopping district entirely, something else had caught his eye…

…

"Welcome back!" Goofy greeted Sora cheerfully. "Did you buy a lot of gifts?"

"Nah, just a few things really!"

"This is why you're always broke, Sora!" Donald laughed.

"Not true! I'm pretty good with money…" The hesitation in Sora's voice earned a laugh from everyone.

"I don't think you even believe that yourself." Flynn joined in on the teasing.

"You're one to talk." Rapunzel shot right back at him.

Sora and Donald continued to bicker while everyone else just laughed in amusement. They were always like this, but they wouldn't change it for the world.

"So! Everyone take a lantern. Flynn and I can't use magic so we have to use actual matches to light ours." Rapunzel giggled. "The boats are waiting for us. Everyone in town will be lighting theirs from above, since this is our special little spot." She smiled at Flynn, who smiled and kissed her on the forehead in return. "It's going to be just as amazing as last time, maybe even better!"

The group all went to the small boats that were waiting for them on the dock. Everyone split into twos: Donald and Goofy in one boat, Sora and Namine in another, and of course Rapunzel and Flynn. Donald and Goofy had both agreed to give as much alone time to their best friends as they could. They would've stayed back on the island initially, but Sora had insisted that they tag along. It just felt right when they were all together. Even though Sora and Donald teased each other a lot they also cared for each other deeply. When Sora was lost and alone, it was Donald and Goofy who picked him back up and who have been supporting him and Namine through thick and thin. Goofy felt the exact same way, of course. They were just as anxious as everyone else, knowing that they also had the responsibility of protecting the king in this upcoming battle too. Ultimately, no one wanted to lose anyone.

The boats were taking off and Namine was enjoying the cool breeze on the water. Sora rowed them out far enough so that they would have a nice view of all of the floating lanterns. The rest of the group was not too far as they were planning to release their lanterns at the same time.

"Do you think Sora is okay? He's been kinda odd." Donald asked once they were out of earshot.

"What do you mean?" Goofy placed a finger to his chin.

"His mind just seems far away."

"Aw shucks, you're worried about him aren't ya?" Donald huffed and Goofy just giggled. "Well, we are gonna have to fight Organization 13 soon. It's a pretty scary thing. I'm sure he's just worried about anything happening to us or Namine."

Donald crossed his arms and nodded. They looked over to Sora and Namine's boat. The couple were chatting to each other and laughing.

"I'm so glad we helped Rapunzel and Flynn. I still can't believe her "mother" wasn't even her real mother…" Namine said, trailing off into her thoughts suddenly. "I don't know what it's like to have a mother, but I'm sure it still hurt Rapunzel when she found out the truth."

"Mothers are annoying, you're not missing out on anything." Sora joked. Namine smiled sadly, and Sora realized his comment might've been insensitive. "I'm sorry." He sat down next to her, the boat rocking a bit as he did. "After this is over, I'll introduce to my mom. I'm sure she'll tell you every embarrassing story there is to know about me."

Namine giggled. She rested her head against his shoulder and sighed peacefully. She was going to miss this feeling of tranquility. Of course, once everything was over they could return to this but there was no telling how the fight would end up. Organization 13 was tough in general and with Xehanort back there was even more of a challenge. Last year, fighting Xemnas took almost everything they had, so how could they fight him again? How were they going to defeat everyone else all over again? Sure, some of the members joined the side of the light and that was great, but there were still many members who were devoted to darkness. She remembered Vanitas… How he looked identical to Sora, but with black hair and golden eyes. Vanitas had kidnapped Namine for a bit, giving her a chance to talk with him. He was irredeemable at that point, but something about him was sorrowful. Maybe she pitied him because of his resemblance to Sora.

Sora, noticing that she was lost in thought, nudged her gently. "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you guys."

"And we won't let anything happen to you. It works both ways, Sora." She raised her head up and met his eyes with hers. "Stop trying to be the hero all of the time, silly."

"Can I kiss you?" He asked suddenly, not even realizing how red the blonde had turned.

"E-Everyone is watching!"

"They're not even paying attention."

He put his forehead against hers, glancing at her small, pink lips. Namine sighed and placed her hand on his cheek. She leaned up and placed an innocent kiss on his lips. They both laughed and blushed.

"I said can _I _kiss _you_, not the other way around."

"You are insufferable, you know that?" She pinched his cheek.

"Ow! Ow! I'm kidding!" They smiled at each other.

"You guys ready?" Rapunzel shouted loud enough for the entire group to hear.

"Let's light em up!" Flynn cheered.

Sora brought his keyblade out and positioned it in front of the unlit lantern. Donald summoned his magic wand, also getting ready to cast the fira spell. Flynn grabbed a match and quickly lit it. It wasn't as cool as magic, but it damn sure worked, he thought. They could see the lanterns from the kingdom start to fill the sky. Once their lanterns were lit, everyone slowly released theirs to join in with the hundreds that were already taking flight.

"Wow!" Namine beamed. "This is even more beautiful than the first time! Rapunzel was right."

Everyone looked up at the sky in amazement. Soon, thousands of lanterns were floating, illuminating the night sky and reflecting on the lake. It was like watching a bunch of large fireflies. Sora was in awe as well. He could watch this display every night if he could. He hoped that he would be able to visit here again and even bring Kairi and Riku this time. They would love the floating lanterns.

Suddenly, Sora reached in his pocket, remembering the item that had caught his eye earlier. He took a deep breath and slowly removed it from his pocket. He knew that time was precious for him and he didn't want to wait. It was now or never.

"Namine!" He called her name, a little too loudly because of his nerves. She turned away from the glowing lights and faced him with a smile.

"Yes?"

Nothing could've prepared her for what happened next. She saw Sora get down on his knee and hold up an object towards her. It was… a ring?! Her hands immediately flew to her mouth as she let out a large gasp. If she and Kairi hadn't spent time having all kinds of "girl talk" she would have absolutely no clue what this boy was up to. But she knew. She heard all about this kind of thing.

"I want you to be by my side, forever… I don't want anyone else." His voice was shaky, but determined. Never in his life did he imagine himself actually proposing to someone. "When this is over, when everyone is safe… Would you be my wife?"

Tears began forming in her eyes almost immediately. She wiped them as the fell and gave him the most sincere smile she could muster up.

"Of course, Sora!"

Sora grinned widely, his nerves melting away. He placed the ring on her finger and caught Namine as she suddenly flung herself into his arms.

"This is just a promise ring… I promise I'll get you the real thing after the fight." He said, wrapping his arms around her small frame tightly. Namine was still crying and laughing at the same time. She couldn't even describe the pure happiness that she was feeling in that moment. She wished that time could just freeze for the two of them-

"Woo! It's about time!" Donald said while clapping.

Sora and Namine snapped back to reality to discover their friends had witnessed the entire scene. They turned as red as apples, earning laughs and giggles all around them.

"Congratulations you too!" Goofy said with the happiest smile. Flynn and Rapunzel also shouted their congratulations at them as well.

The couple thanked them and then looked at the lanterns in the sky. They were almost out of view. Everyone basked in the peacefulness that this night had brought them. The battle was only days away, but this trip was much needed. They knew that they would have to train after this, so they wanted to enjoy the night as much as possible.

"I'm so glad I met you, Sora." Namine spoke after a few minutes had passed.

"I'm the lucky one."

She shook her head softly. "You gave me purpose. I had nothing when I came into the world, but you gave me friends… You taught me how to be human."

"You taught me a lot of things too, Namine. I was an immature kid, but you helped me figure out the things that were important to me. You're my strength, as well as everyone else."

She smiled. Sora held her hand and ran a finger across her knuckles. They enjoyed each other's company until the sky was once pitch black again. Everyone rowed back to the dock and stretched out their muscles which had gone stiff from sitting for so long.

"I'm so glad you guys came back. Feel free to visit us whenever." Rapunzel smiled and grabbed Flynn's hand. "We'll be heading back to the castle for the night. Good bye Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Namine! I wish you all the luck for your upcoming battle. Kick their asses!" The group laughed at hearing the "princess" proudly speak a bad word.

"My lady has spoken. See you around, guys." Flynn waved goodbye to everyone and soon him and Rapunzel headed back to the castle.

"Time to head back to the island. I wish we could've revisited more places." Sora groaned.

"We will! As soon as we defeat that pesky organization once and for all!" Donald responded with a smirk.

"Donald's right! We can come back to as many worlds as we want!" Goofy joined in.

Sora and Namine nodded. They all headed back to the gummi ship and prepared to fly towards their destination. Donald made sure to put the ship in auto pilot so that they could at least rest for a couple hours. It wouldn't take long to make it back to Destiny Islands thanks to the new boosters. The seats on the ship weren't exactly comfortable but they would suffice.

Tomorrow would be their last day to prepare. Sora leaned back into his chair and sighed softly.

_I won't disappear… I won't leave my friends._

…..

"Oh my GOD!" Kairi squealed as Namine showed her the ring.

It was the next morning and Namine had slept over Kairi's house when they arrived back on the island. They were both sitting on the bed discussing the events of yesterday. The blonde had immediately collapsed once she found a comfortable bed and completely forgot to share the exciting news with her best friend.

Namine looked away bashfully, covering her face with her free hand. "You're embarrassing me!"

"I just can't believe Sora of all people would actually propose… I was sure Riku would beat him to the punch." Kairi crossed her arms, silently cursing her silver-haired boyfriend. "Grr! If Riku doesn't make his move soon I'm leaving him for Ven!"

The girls laughed. Kairi hugged Namine and then grabbed both of her hands.

"I'm so happy for you both"

"Thank you, Kairi."

The red-head could feel a few tears about to spill, so she quickly got up from the bed and stretched.

"Okay! You ready for training? You'll be sparring with Riku I'm getting too used to his moves. Plus, I'm super jealous that Sora proposed so now I have to kick his butt a bit!"

Namine giggled. "Sounds good to me! Fighting with Riku will be great practice. I don't even think Sora can beat him right now."

Both girls got cleaned and dressed up, heading down to the beach. Riku and Sora were already there. They seemed to be having a pretty deep conversation, as they were huddled up closely together. Riku had his arm around Sora's neck and was ruffling his hair.

"Hey!" Kairi shouted running towards them. Namine followed after her.

"Morning, Kai."

Upon closer inspection they could see Sora struggling to free himself from Riku's death grip.

"Let go of me!" Sora breathed out. Riku chuckled and finally released the boy. Sora crossed his arms impatiently. "I'm definitely not going easy on you after that!"

"Were you teasing him?" Kairi questioned.

"Just congratulating him on getting engaged, no biggie." Riku turned his attention to Namine and smiled. "Congrats. I'm glad he has you."

Namine smiled warmly. "Thank you! I'm glad he also has you guys." Riku grinned.

"If only _someone _else would follow in Sora's footsteps…" Kairi said while shooting daggers at Riku with her eyes. The silver-haired boy chuckled nervously.

"Good things come to those who wait, Kai."

"What if she doesn't want to wait anymore?!"

"Then she doesn't get good things."

Sora and Namine were both highly amused at their playful argument. Kairi rolled her eyes and then summoned her keyblade.

"Alright, Sora! It's me and you. Best two out of three!"

Sora also summoned his keyblade and grinned. "Bring it on!"

They both ran towards an open space away from the others and immediately started going at it. Riku scratched his head.

"Those two never change…" He remarked. "I guess that leaves us, Namine. I won't be going easy on you either." Riku summoned his keyblade and pointed it at her.

"I wouldn't want you to!"

She summoned her keyblade and followed Riku over to another open space. They all practiced for a couple of hours. They each took turns focusing on defensive and offensive moves. Namine had already mastered her magic, but even still it was difficult to land a hit on Riku. Her offense was decent, but he wanted her to focus more on physical moves instead of magic all of the time and advised her to do just that. Kairi was pretty good with her keyblade as well, but Sora didn't let her knock him down once. The girls definitely had to admit that Sora and Riku were forces to be reckoned with. Kairi and Namine weren't able to get the best of either of the boys, but their offense and defense greatly improved just from a few hours of training with them.

"Alright, it's time for me and Riku to spar." Sora said, slightly fatigued but not enough to call it a day.

"Fine with me. Kairi, Namine, you guys watch us closely."

"We're not kids, Riku!" Kairi whined. "But we are tired so we'll be sitting over there."

As the girls went to sit down and catch their breaths, Sora and Riku took their stances and faced each other. They smirked at each other and didn't say a word before clashing their keyblades. Namine was amazed at how fast their moves were. Both of them were swinging their keyblades at full strength, creating a loud clanking sound that echoed around them. They were both pretty evenly matched, but Riku had the upper hand just slightly.

"He was definitely holding back with me…" She thought out loud.

Kairi laughed. "Sora was doing the same thing. I guess no matter what they say, they're both a couple of softies."

The sparring went on for a bit longer, but Riku ultimately took the victory. Both boys collapsed on the sand, trying to cool off for a bit. Namine and Kairi walked up to them.

"Will you ever beat Riku?" Kairi teased.

Sora chuckled and just nodded. "Of course I will. I just wasn't at full strength today."

"Is that so?" Riku raised a brow.

After a bit, they sat up and stared out into the vast ocean. Sora remembered when they built that flimsy raft and planned to sail across the sea with it. How did they even expect to fit three people onto that little thing? He laughed to himself at how childish that whole plan was. Riku asked him what was so funny. Sora stood up and placed his arms behind his head.

"Just thinking back to when we were kids," He turned his attention to Namine. "Kairi, Riku, and I had planned to travel to different worlds on a wooden raft. We didn't even have a chance to test it out, but I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have gotten far."

"Aww, I think you guys could've made it. Kairi can do almost anything once she sets her mind to it." Namine replied.

The sun began to set and the sky was a beautiful hue of red and orange. Sora cursed how quickly the day had passed. He could feel the anxiety in him start to swell up again. He could hear young Xehanort's words louder than ever.

"Good times!" Kairi smiled at the memory. "Well, Riku and I are gonna head back to town. You guys deserve some time before tomorrow. We have a big day ahead of us."

Riku nodded in agreement. "Everyone, make sure you're well rested. We leave for the graveyard tomorrow morning. Aqua, Ven, and Terra will be waiting there for us. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy will also be there."

They all nodded. Kairi and Riku waved and then walked hand in hand back to the town. Sora watched as their figures became smaller and smaller. He knew that Riku would protect her with everything he had and Sora would do the same for Namine. He looked at her and saw that she was silently watching the sunset. He noted how her blue eyes reflected the soft glow of the setting sun. Everything about her was beautiful to him. He wanted to hold her tightly and never let her go… to keep her away from the organization, the heartless, nobodies, all of it…

"It's getting dark." Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Should we head back? Kairi should be waiting for me at her house."

"Yeah…" He looked to the ground.

She began walking towards the small town when Sora's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"What if you didn't stay with Kairi tonight?"

Namine turned to Sora, a confused look on her face at first.

"What do you mean?"

"What if you… Stayed with me tonight?"

Namine's eyes widened in realization. Sora was looking straight at her, his tone serious. She blushed and looked away, twiddling with her thumbs.

"U-Um…"

"J-Just kidding!" He could feel the awkwardness and suddenly decided to play off his suggestion as a joke. Seriously, what was he thinking? He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Namine stopped playing with her fingers and then closed her eyes. A few seconds later, she was looking back at him with resolve.

"Sure."

Sora froze right where he stood. There's no way he heard her correctly. He had to make sure that he wasn't daydreaming again.

"Huh?" He asked, knowing well what she had said.

"I want to s-stay with you tonight." She could feel her face heating up. Namine was used to sleeping near the boy, but Donald and Goofy were usually with them as well. They would either camp out or all stay in the same hotel room. She had never slept with Sora alone, not to mention in the same bed. Kairi had also talked to her about something like this happening. She told her that when you really loved someone, you'd want to make them yours completely. Body and soul. Namine was confused at what that meant until Kairi had given her more than enough details. She swore that her face couldn't get any redder than it was on that day!

Sora walked up to the nervous blonde and smiled. He took her hand in his.

"Okay. Let's go home."

_Home. _Namine loved the sound of that. After all, they'd be living together once they were married, right? She hoped that Kairi wouldn't be too worried about her. She also hoped that the red-head wouldn't go around telling everyone about her overnight stay with Sora.

Sora could also feel himself getting a bit nervous. He had promised himself he wouldn't do anything to make her feel uncomfortable. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all… But he didn't want to say goodbye to her, not _yet_. They made it back to his house in no time at all. Or, maybe they were both so nervous they couldn't even tell how much time had gone by. Sora closed the door behind them and took off his shoes. Namine also took off her shoes and stood there awkwardly.

"W-Well… There's a shower in the hallway and one in my room. You can take the one in the hallway… My parents aren't home right now they've been away for a while on business…" He scratched his head. "I'll get you some clothes to sleep in while those are being washed."

"Okay, thank you very much." She was speaking in an odd formal tone, a sign of her nerves getting the best of her.

They headed upstairs and into his room. Sora found an old white t-shirt and some shorts for her to lounge in. She took the clothes and thanked him, heading for the shower in the hallway. The brunette sighed and placed a hand on his forehead. He didn't even notice how hot his face had been. Despite the uneasiness, he didn't regret asking her to stay with him one bit. He wanted to spend every second he could with her.

Namine was the first to finish showering and getting dressed. She held his shirt against her nude body, taking in his scent. She put the shirt on and giggled at how big it was on her. She also threw on his shorts which were also too big. They were practically falling down. The blonde looked in the mirror and used her fingers to brush her loose, wet strands into place. She fist bumped her reflection in the mirror and nodded.

"Be confident, Namine!" She repeated what Kairi would say to her in a situation like this.

She heard the bathroom door in Sora's room open and then close. He was there waiting for her. She took a deep breath and opened the door, slowly heading back to his room. The light in his room was on, but it was very dim as if the light bulb was fading. Sora hadn't been home in a while so of course he wasn't thinking about changing any light bulbs. Their eyes met when Namine entered the room. Sora was sitting on the floor with a damp towel around his neck. She was looking to the floor shyly. He immediately noted how cute she looked in oversized clothing. The blonde peeked up at him and then noticed that Sora's hair was still pretty much soaking wet.

"Hey! What did I tell you about drying your hair?" She stormed over to him and grabbed the towel that was around his shoulders. "You'll catch a cold!" She threw the towel over his head and started frantically drying his spiky locks.

"Thanks, _mom_."

They both chuckled. Suddenly, it felt like the uneasiness slowly left the room and the two of them were back to their usual selves. She sat behind him on her knees, still trying to dry his hair completely. Sora just closed his eyes and enjoyed her doting over him.

"There. All dry!" She tossed the towel into his basket and ruffled his hair. "You always did have the weirdest hair."

"Hey! I thought you loved it."

"I never said I didn't!"

The brunette ran a hand through his hand and grinned at her. Oh, how handsome he was, she thought to herself. He stood up and went to sit on his bed, patting the space next to him. Namine hesitated a bit before standing up and sitting next to him. It was so quiet that they could hear the bedsprings moving as they shifted around. He was looking off into space again, thinking about what was to come tomorrow.

"This really isn't like you. You're always so confident before a fight." Namine poked his cheek to grab his attention. He looked at her and sighed.

"This is different. Xehanort is stronger than any enemy we've ever faced. Not to mention having to fight the strongest members of the organization all over again."

"Do you feel like we can't beat them?"

Her question caught him off guard a bit. It wasn't that he didn't have faith in his friends. He guessed that he just didn't have much faith in himself anymore. They'd visited so many worlds and faced so many different enemies. They always seemed to pull through somehow but there was almost always a significant struggle they had to endure first. Sora had almost lost Namine before in The World That Never Was. He never wanted to experience that kind of hopelessness again.

"I believe we can. But I also think people could end up really hurt…" He finally answered.

"You just have to trust us, Sora. You have to trust in yourself, too!" She smiled at him. "After I heard that Aqua was alone for 10 years in the darkness and still managed to defeat her demons… I have no choice but to never give up. You were the one who taught me that in the first place…"

Suddenly, it was like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. He couldn't believe how much he had let Xehanort's empty threat get to him. He felt ashamed and like he had betrayed who he was as a person. Everything he believed in was in jeopardy because of this whole situation. Sora's hands flew to his face, slapping both of his cheeks with a bit of force. Namine was startled at his sudden movement.

"Sora?!"

"I'm such an idiot!" He laughed and crossed his arms. "You're right. We can never give up, no matter what. I'll defeat anything that comes my way!" The boy's usual confidence had returned to him all at once, causing Namine to giggle.

"Now there's the _keyblade master_ I remember!"

In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and kiss her. But, he remembered their current situation and started to become overly aware of how close she was to him. He could smell his shampoo on her and wanted to drown in her warmth. Namine began to feel self-conscious as she could feel the awkwardness in the room returning. The brunette rose up from the bed abruptly and turned to his closet.

"I have some extra covers in the closet. I'll make a bed on the floor." He chuckled nervously.

A feeling of disappointment came over Namine. She realized that she didn't want him to sleep anywhere but right next to her. Sora was shocked when he felt something grab his shirt from behind. He turned around and saw the blonde girl gazing at him. For a minute they just looked at each other, not knowing what could happen next.

"I want to sleep next to you…" Her voice was small, but there wasn't a hint of hesitation.

"Um…" He looked to the ground awkwardly. "I don't know if I'll be able to-"

"I want to become one with you!" She blurted out without really thinking.

"E-Eh?!" Sora's eyes widened in complete and utter shock. Their faces were both beet red at that point. Just then, he realized his red headed friend was probably the culprit behind Namine's new and colorful vocabulary. "Kairi… She polluted your head, didn't she?"

"T-That's not true… Well she did tell me about those kinds of things."

Sora sighed in frustration. He was definitely going to have a word or two with Kairi.

"Listen, you don't even know what you're saying right now."

"Yes I do!" She pouted. "I know exactly what I'm saying. I love you and if this was possibly our last night together… I don't want to ever forget it."

His expression relaxed and was replaced with a small smile. He inched closer until he was right in front of her. His hand caressed her cheek softly, but Namine flinched slightly at his touch. She was full of anticipation, but also scared. He could see her hands trembling a bit.

"You're scared…" He stated softly. But Sora knew that he was the one who was truly terrified.

"I am, but not of you."

Their voices were as soft as whispers. Sora's face was now just centimeters away from hers. Namine felt hot, but it wasn't just her face that was feeling the rise in temperature. His hands cupped her face and angled her head upwards. She closed her eyes as she felt him press his lips against hers. Namine's placed her hands on his chest and gripped his shirt tightly. This kiss was different than all of the others. It wasn't like the innocent pecks they would sneak when they were alone on their adventures… This kiss became passionate, fast. His hand moved from her face to her waist in one swift movement. Namine felt like her knees would give out any second because she had never been touched like this by him before. Sora pulled her body closer to his.

"Mm!" The blonde pulled away slightly to catch her breath. Her cheeks were flushed and her mouth was slightly open. Sora never thought he'd see this kind of expression from her. She looked at him with half lidded eyes that were full of want and affection.

"I love you." He whispered in her ear, sending chills down her spine. "You're mine." Sora didn't mean to sound possessive, but his mind was clouded in that moment. He wanted to have her all to himself.

"I'm yours." She replied lovingly.

Their memories over the years they had shared together began to playback. It was destiny that brought them together and in that moment they could feel it. In the beginning, Namine was so clueless about the matters of the heart. Sora was the only one who could have such a major influence on her. She became a completely different person and thanks to him she was able to finally have a heart of her own. Although, he would argue that she always had one, it was just asleep.

"_Who are you?"_

"_I'm… Namine."_

"_Namine? That's a pretty name. I'm Sora!"_

The two of them had made their way onto his bed. He hovered over her for just a short while before closing the distance between them again.

"_Why'd you run off like that?" Sora asked once he was finally able to catch up to her. He had grabbed her wrist to stop her from running any more._

"_I don't know!" She turned to him, tears in her eyes. "I know that Kairi is important to you, it's just that every time you think about her I feel… a sharp pain in my chest. I don't know what this is! I hate it!" _

Their fingers were intertwined and their bodies were connected.

"_I'm coming with you!" She demanded, "We've come all of this way together. We'll defeat Ansem together!"_

"_Namine you… you've changed." He laughed. "Alright. We'll finish this together."_

_Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement. _

The moon shone bright through his bedroom window. The stars were shining just for them.

_His mouth dropped as soon as Namine entered the ballroom. Belle had given her one of her dresses to wear and even put a little make up on her. The long, flowy dress was a golden color, a huge contrast to the plain white one she would always wear. As she made her way towards him, she was blushing from the intensity of his stare._

"_What do you think?" She asked shyly. _

"_You l-look… Amazing!" _

_She smiled. Sora held his hand out in front of her._

"_May I have this dance?"_

It was magical. The feeling of being intimate with that special person was like a dream. If only the night had lasted forever… If only Namine had known the tragedy that was to come…

If only she knew that it would be the last night they would share together.

**And that's a wrap! I'm so glad I could write this out because I've had this idea in my head for quite a while, hehe. I've been in love with this couple for so long and I really wish there were more stories that focused on them, but I wanted to at least share some of mine. I'm never consistent and that's what I always leave my stories unfinished lol. But, I hope you guys enjoyed this I tried to add more detail than I usually do. I usually focus more on dialogue or I just rush to get to the good stuff. Let me me what you all thought of this!**

**Please review I would LOVE to read your comments!**


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